Fixed and expandable stabilizers are typically employed in a drill string for stabilizing down-hole components such as drill bits, reamers, drill collars, and steering subs. Various approaches to drill a borehole, to ream a larger diameter borehole, to monitor the condition of a drilled borehole, or to condition a borehole may include the use of a stabilizer having stabilizer blades, blocks or pads used longitudinally above or below down-hole components of the bottom-hole assembly to increase stability and reduce dysfunctional loads, i.e., lateral vibrational loading, thereupon while engaging the borehole. For example, the use of stabilizers to improve the drilling performance of an expandable reamer is generally known to a person of ordinary skill in the art. Expandable stabilizer blades, blocks or pads may also incorporate features of expandable reamers, such as the movable bearing pad structure disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/875,241, filed Oct. 19, 2007, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,721,823, issued May 25, 2010, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention and the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by this reference, such apparatus being operated to an expanded state by the flow of fluid, such as drilling mud, or pressure within the drill string. However, conventional stabilizers are configured with relatively aggressive, i.e., square edges or a single 45 degree chamfer that tends to cause the stabilizer to grab the inside of the borehole or may induce whirl.
Notwithstanding the various conventional approaches to stabilize down-hole equipment when rotating in a borehole, a need exists for improved apparatus, systems, and methods for doing so. For instance, conventional systems for stabilizing while reaming a borehole (especially while back-reaming a drilled borehole) may encounter subterranean formation changes within the formation of the drilled borehole (i.e., a tight spot of swelled shale or filter cake in the formation, or other obstructions), which may induce the aforementioned instabilities in the stabilizer. Accordingly, there is an ongoing desire to improve or extend performance of a stabilizer, including a method of use therefor.